'Police should act on pavement surfing'

POLICE are being urged to take 'proper enforcement action' against pavement surfing.

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But in response the head of law enforcement has said that raising drivers' awareness and promoting courtesy could be just as useful.

Deputy Peter Roffey has written to Patrick Rice and Home Affairs Committee president Mary Lowe after raising the issue in the States.

He said he had been 'overwhelmed' at the public response following his questions.

While he appreciated that island conditions often made it necessary for a driver to mount the kerb, this needed to be 'strictly limited as per the law and ideally as advised by the Highway Code.'

Deputy Roffey said that he appreciated police resources were limited, so he 'would urge a very concentrated effort to enforce the law in this respect, focussing on well-known areas where motorists tend to drive freely along pavements'.

He thought this could be through either officers being present or by using cameras.

In reply to Deputy Roffey, Mr Rice wrote that police officers regularly carry out proactive operations at locations around the island and the advice given has always been to mount the pavement slowly and wait for oncoming vehicles to pass before driving on.

However, while targeted efforts at so-called pavement surfing hotspots do work while officers are present, 'it is common for the problem to quickly return once the officers have moved on'.

'Feedback from officers, combined with the low number of reports which we get from the public in relation to pavement surfing, indicate to us that we are dealing with this issue in a proportionate way when considered against the need for us to deploy our roads policing resources where the need is greatest, such as in targeting speeding,' wrote Mr Rice.

'Promoting courtesy and awareness among drivers may be equally as useful as enforcement.'